Obviously, when it comes down to it, the only thing that absolutely matters on your wedding day and indeed in the build-up to your big day is the happiness of you and your fiancé. However, as your wedding guests will presumably consist of your nearest and dearest, you will naturally want your loved ones to have a memorable and entertaining day.

So, with this in mind, continue reading to learn how to ensure your guests are as happy as you are on your wedding day.

Spend Time Designing Your Favors

Contrary to popular belief, thoughtful wedding favors for each and every one of your wedding guests do not have to be expensive.

Wedding favors are also an ideal way to provide an extra little bit of entertainment, especially if you choose one or more of the following:

• Themed packaged doughnuts
• Original hot sauce to spice up their wedding food
• Mini puzzles
• Quiz cards
• Inspirational books

Book Top Entertainment

One of the most effective ways of ensuring your wedding guests enjoy themselves after the official ceremony has ended is to hire some top entertainment.

Reputable and professional companies, such as Alive Network, offer a wide range of different musicians, bands and other forms of entertainment and you can customize both what types of performers you book and also the time and duration of the performance.

Plan an Evening Speech

Another fabulous, not to mention highly sentimental, way of making your wedding guests feel included on your big day, not to mention to help you and your new spouse handle the consistent mingling from table to table, is to plan a more informal evening speech.

Such a speech does not have to be long, just simply heartfelt and you could use the time to thank your guests for coming to your wedding and letting them know how much they are valued.

A Cocktail Bar

Cocktails are the epitome of the fun-time, party drink and an excellent way of filling the void between the day and the evening celebrations is to hire a self-service cocktail bar to have either in the main area whilst the room is being transformed, or else when the guests arrive at the evening venue.

Some of the best cocktails which are more likely to appeal to most of your guests’ tastebuds include, to name a few, the following:

• Espresso Martini
• Pina Colada
• Margarita
• Apple Martini
• Long Island Iced Tea
• Mojito
• Strawberry Daiquiri

A Perfume Bar

A particularly unusual addition to your wedding, be that in the reception area in the evening or else to provide some focus for the guests who are waiting for the ceremony to start prior to your arrival is that of a perfume bar.

You could even split the perfume bar and have a male collection of scents and on the other side, some more feminine samples for the ladies and your guests will have fun sampling the perfumes and finding inspiration.

Provide Alternatives to Dancing

When your wedding guests are seated at the table, either before or after the speeches, a brilliant idea is to hire a performer who can go from table to table.

One of the most popular performers to hire is a magician, who will wow your guests by showing them impressive card games and other illusions. Furthermore, not all of your wedding guests will be comfortable dancing, especially before they have relaxed into the evening, so you could even set up a board game area or a relaxing, candlelit lounging area in another section of the room.

Fireworks!

Depending entirely on the size and location of your venue and obviously whether or not you have access to a safe and secure, spacious outdoor space included in the hire of your wedding location, a firework display is a popular crowd pleaser.

There are numerous companies who specialize in firework displays at wedding evening receptions and you could even provide sparklers as your guests leave to go outside so they can truly immerse themselves in the light show.

A DIY Station

DIY stations, although obviously not the hammer and drill kind, are another fantastic way of entertaining your wedding guests and not confining them to a choice between sitting down at their assigned table or dancing in the middle of the floor.

DIY confetti stations, for example, will not only mean your wedding guests can get creative, but means they can also enjoy making their special, customized wedding favor which they can take home with them.

A Flash Singing Mob

A more unusual idea to entertain your guests, not to mention an excellent way to make your wedding day as memorable as possible and a real talking point, is to hire a flash singing mob.

Such groups as singing waiters will pose as authentic waiters as they are serving you and your guests their food, then ‘spontaneously’ burst into a pre-rehearsed song and dance number. Videos and photographs are always encouraged and not only is a singing flash mob a brilliant form of entertainment, but it will also be the perfect way for your guests to feel included.

Think Outside the Photo Booth Box

You would be hard pressed to attend a wedding these days without seeing a photo booth in the corner of the room, complete with inflatable guitars, crazy styled hats and a selection of other giant accessories. Obviously, there are hours of fun to be had for your attendees posing in their friendship and family groups, especially when the photographs are available to print and keep instantly.

However, to break this trend and to make your wedding booth different from the rest, there are plenty of additions and changes you can make. For example, you could set up a ‘Glam Station’. Fill the booth with make-up and costumes which will make your guests feel as if they can dress up in an entirely different era of costume and have those photos as a keepsake. Another idea for spicing up your wedding booth is to have a GIF making station which your guests can create on their smartphones.